Tweet
On Tuesday Carers Week came together to celebrate carers and the incredible role they play in society. And what better way to celebrate than with a twitter party?! We blew up virtual balloons, stuck virtual pieces of cheese and pineapple onto sticks and came together at 1pm on the social networking site, twitter. The venue for the twitter party was the hashtag #Preparedtocare and #carersweek and thousands of people tweeted their support for carers.
A Twitter Party is an hour long virtual party of extremely frequent tweets from a designated host and their community around a common theme, that users enter using a promoted hashtag.
We were overwhelmed with the response of the twitter party and even had messages from Celeb tweeters including, Lorraine Kelly, Fiona Phillips, Martin Lewis, Ruby Wax. The party of was an excellent excuse to celebrate carers, but it also gave us an opportunity to reach out to the general public to highlight the role that carers play in society. Throughout the hour long twitter party, we reached over 4 million people to spread the word about caring and #Carersweek trended for the second time that week.
This event was just one of many activities planned online to raise awareness of carers and Carers Week. Other planned activities included setting up a Prepared to Care? gallery which features images of carers, politicians, volunteers and celebrities such as Lynda Bellingham, Jo Brand and the cast of Hollyoaks holding up Prepared to Care? signs.
Helen Clarke Carers Week Manager said “We know that thousands of people don’t recognise themselves as carers and it was important for the partnership that we tried new ways to raise awareness and try and engage more people and help identify themselves or their friends and colleagues as carers so they can access much needed support, advice and information.
It has been great to work with the partners and have the input and expertise of Cubaka to really lift the campaign’s profile online through social media alongside all the great events planned locally and fantastic coverage in the local, regional and national press”.
Eliott Farr, Community Manager said “Because Carers Week is a nationwide awareness campaign, it is inherently social. Bringing together the combined support of a network of charities, regional carer groups, famous faces and carers themselves - each with a slightly different take on what the week means for them, the potential for conversation is endless.
Not only did #carersweek trend twice on Twitter twice during the week, but we also received universally positive comments from carers on social media, saw a huge willingness to support local events, and were able to give a voice to carers. All of which are the greatest indicators that Carers Week has been a resounding success, not just on social media, but across the UK.”
Thank you to everybody who contributed to raise awareness of Carers Week and the UK’s 6.5 million carers. Especially the carers that have shared their stories in videos and blogs, the celebrities that support the campaign and all the staff, carers and volunteers who have appeared in the Prepared to Care? gallery
http://www.carersweek.org/
